landman.trainingWorkbook · Unit 4 Supplement
Texas Relinquishment Act & RRC Workbook.
How to check the Texas General Land Office (GLO) archive file for mineral classification before leasing West Texas or South Texas school sections, and how Railroad Commission (RRC) spacing and density rules interact with your lease chain.
- Topic
- GLO Relinquishment Act, Free Royalty, and RRC Rules 37 & 38
- Statutes cited
- Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§ 52.171 to 52.190; 16 TAC §§ 3.37, 3.38
- Cost
- Free self-study
Before leasing a school section
- Pull the GLO patent and original classification ledger for the abstract.
- Check the sales date (Sept 1, 1895 to Aug 21, 1931 vs. post-1931 Sales Act).
- Use the required GLO Relinquishment Act lease form and file the certified copy with the GLO.
GLO LandsMineral-classified vs. Free Royalty
Key rules
- A private lease form on Relinquishment Act land is ineffective.
- The surface owner ("owner of the soil") cannot sever the agency right from the surface.
- Both bonus and royalty are split 50/50 between the State and the owner of the soil.
In Texas, alternate railway grant sections (usually the even-numbered sections in a survey block) were set aside for the Permanent School Fund. When the State sold those sections into private hands, whether the buyer received the minerals turns on the land classification on the date of sale, not merely the words printed in the patent.
- Sold before Sept. 1, 1895 (or classified agricultural/grazing only): The patentee generally took both surface and 100% of the minerals, and the tract is leased like ordinary private fee land.
- Sold Sept. 1, 1895 to Aug. 21, 1931 with a "Mineral" or "Mineral and Dry Grazing" classification (Relinquishment Act Land): The State reserved 100% of the minerals. Under the Relinquishment Act of 1919, the current surface owner ("owner of the soil") acts as the State's statutory leasing agent, signs the GLO Relinquishment Act lease form, and shares 50/50 in all bonus, delay rentals, and royalties with the State once the GLO approves and files the certified recorded lease.
- Sold after Aug. 21, 1931 (1931 Sales Act / Free Royalty): The buyer took the executive mineral estate, while the State reserved a free non-participating royalty (commonly 1/16 on oil and gas). A certified copy of the recorded private lease must still be filed with the GLO.
Sources. Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§ 51.054, 52.171 to 52.190; Greene v. Robison, 117 Tex. 516, 8 S.W.2d 655 (1928).
RRC RulesRule 37, Rule 38 & Allocation
Other workbooks
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) regulates conservation and prevents waste; it does not adjudicate title disputes. When preparing a pre-spud land packet for a Form W-1 drilling permit, keep three regulatory boundaries straight:
- Statewide Rule 37 (Spacing)
- Sets default minimum distances (467 ft from lease/unit lines; 1,200 ft between wells on the same tract in the same horizon) unless superseded by special field rules. An operator drilling closer than the rule allows must obtain a Rule 37 exception or pool/allocate across the boundary.
- Statewide Rule 38 (Density)
- Sets the minimum acreage required per well (40 acres statewide default, or the proration unit size set by special field rules).
- Allocation & PSA Wells
- When a horizontal wellbore crosses two or more leased tracts without formal pooling, the operator may permit a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) well (commonly with 65%+ working and royalty interest sign-off per tract) or an Allocation Well where the operator holds leasehold across every crossed tract.
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